Chutes and Ladders
by Starsinger
Summary: Nurses lose their hearts to Jim, he loses his heart to a five year old.


**Nurses and Five Year Olds**

by Starsinger

**Jim is still a ladies men, even when he's unconscious, and completely unaware of it. McCoy has a completely different problem on his hands, of the female variety, and sometimes, the five year ole really did do it! lol Don't own them.**

Jim was many things. Charming, handsome, kind, funny, charismatic, a gigantic pain in Bones' ass, and attracting attention of the female variety, even when near death. The moment word got out that he was in the hospital in Zurich, every female nurse in Starfleet, and a few male, demanded a transfer to help with his care. Well, everyone in Starfleet that didn't work on the Enterprise that is. The Senior Chief Medical Officer of the facility not only fielded those requests, but those of a few doctors who wanted in on treating the now famous Captain.

Fortunately, the personnel of the hospital were capable, and more than willing to handle whatever Bones needed done. At one point, the Captain's vitals had dropped so drastically, they'd thought they'd lost him yet again. The nurse handed him yet another anti-rejection medication and collapsed into a chair when Jim responded to it.

Nurse Chapel was one of the few that followed him down from the Enterprise, "Well, we know his immune system works a little, if it's responding to the serum." She handed him Jim's chart. Bones promptly wrote down the name of the newest drug they put in Jim to keep him alive.

It wasn't that he didn't trust the nurses, it was that he didn't trust Jim, even passed out, he exuded a magnetism that was hard to ignore. He was by far the cleanest patient in the hospital, receiving at least three bed baths a day. Every nurse who came on duty felt it necessary to rub him down with lotion from head to foot, so that meant he had the best skin in the ward, male or female. He stopped many from taking pictures with the Captain, and one so bold as to take a picture of his, uhm, organ. "You'd think," McCoy commented to Nurse Chapel, "After all the women he's slept with, **that **wouldn't be something new!" Chapel laughed. He had just gotten back from the press conference that Starfleet pushed him into when he saw two familiar faces sitting in the waiting room. They weren't waiting to see Jim, they were waiting to see him. He scooped up the little girl and hugged her tight, "Oh, Joanna, it's so good to see you!"

Joscelyn, his ex-wife, looked at him, "How are you doing, Leonard?"

"Better than some," he said as they walked to Jim's room. "Joanna, this is my friend, Jim. He's the Captain of the ship I'm on."

He caught Joscelyn looking at Jim, then shaking her head, dragging her mind back to the present. Oh, it felt good to see his baby girl. They soon left, promising to visit again. Business had her in Zurich for the next few weeks. Bones sighed in contentment, he definitely needed that, but he still got slowly drunk over the next few hours.

One night, Chapel brought in a home cooked meal. Bones was impressed as he ate the marsala chicken and noodles with a crisp green salad accompanying it. He finished the cherry cheesecake with a sigh. It was the only one she didn't make it, her sister did. Nurse Chapel, I didn't know you can cook."

She grinned at him, "Call me Christine. We're not on duty."

"Call me Leonard then, or Bones," he sighed in contentment.

"How soon are you expecting to let him wake up?" she asked.

"Tomorrow," he admitted. "It'll disappoint the nurses, I know. He'll no longer be unable to resist them." Chapel snorted, just managing to keep the drink she had just sipped in her mouth.

"I prefer my men in blue," she said, looking at him sideways. Bones slowly realized what she was saying, nothing happened that night, but they were holding hands by the end of the evening.

After Jim awoke and he got to know Joanna better the nurses seemed to melt even further. It seemed clear that the picture he presented of holding Joanna tucked under his chin, even if both of them were sound asleep, was irresistible. Jim started getting call numbers. Finally, Christine took charge and filed them in the appropriate place, the round file. Joanna kept Jim entertained that day. Not only did she fall asleep with him, she brought along one of her favorite games, Chutes and Ladders.

McCoy stopped by as Chapel leaned against the door, watching, "What?! Again?! You're beating me at this!" Giggles erupted from the room as Jim made dramatic noises ending in a dramatic "explosion". Bones watched as Jim's game piece slid down a chute back to near the bottom of the board.

Chapel looked at it. "He's cheating," she murmured. **And** Jim Kirk was, outrageously. He miscalculated how many spaces he was supposed to move, often by a lot. Only took the small ladders, and always managed to hit the biggest chutes down. He won once, and Bones was convinced that was by accident.

Joscelyn stopped by to pick up the little girl and watched as well. "Ya know, in spite of his reputation, he'd make a great father," she said.

"I think he makes a better Uncle," Bones murmured. The other women agreed.

Nurse Chapel cooked another meal later that week and included Jim, chicken cacchiatore this time. Jim was impressed as he smiled at her. He soon noticed the looks she was giving McCoy, "So, are you two an item?" he asked. Bones turned an interesting shade of red. Jim watched the interplay and seemed to come to a decision. Like a switch that had been flicked when he realized Uhura and Spock were together, his demeanor toward Chapel changed. He went from charming and flirtatious to respectful and funny.

McCoy watched his friend with newfound respect. He knew boundaries, and would not cross them. When he watched closely as the days went by, when introduced to wives or girlfriends or even sisters, Jim was himself, never being otherwise, but never making the male half of the pair feel threatened. The nurses were sad when he was finally discharged, but soon, McCoy had a flood of applications of nurses trying to get transferred to the Enterprise. Fortunately, none of his current nurses were interested in leaving.


End file.
